According to a new market report published
by Transparency Market Research “Prefilled
Syringes Market (Glass and Plastic) - Global Industry Analysis, Size,
Volume, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2013 – 2019,”
the global prefilled syringes
market was valued at USD 2.09 billion in 2012 and is expected to grow
at a CAGR of 13.3% from 2013 to 2019, to reach an estimated value of
USD 4.98 billion in 2019.

Prefilled syringes are advanced drug
delivery devices filled with single measured dose of high-end
injectable drugs. These syringes are gradually becoming the most
preferred delivery devices for various categories of injectable
drugs, mainly due to the advantages offered to drug manufacturers,
healthcare providers and patients over conventional vial and ampoule
packaging systems. To drug manufacturers, they are important because
they reduce overfill to 4%-5% from 20% in vials, and thus, are
preferred for dispensing therapeutic classes (mainly biologics) which
are expensive. With respect to healthcare providers and patients,
prefilled syringes help with factors such as ease of operation, low
risk of contamination and accurate dosing.

Glass has been the most preferred material
over decades for syringe manufacturing, owing to its properties such
as non-reactive nature, robustness, transparency and tolerability
against heat. Consequently, glass based prefilled syringes accounted
for the larger share (more than 90%) of the total market in 2012,
both by revenue as well as volume. Since the past few years, the
industry is witnessing a shift towards the usage of plastic in place
of glass in response to some significant disadvantages associated
with glass, such as high risk of breakability and increased level of
leachability from silicone layer in the presence of biologics. Under
the influence of continued development in the area of polymer
technology, the market for plastic based syringes is expected to grow
at a CAGR more than double of that of glass syringes during the
forecast period from 2013 to 2019. Nevertheless, glass syringes will
still dominate the total global market for prefilled syringes in
2019, in terms of percent share by revenue as well as volume.

Boost in the use of biologics and other
potent injectable drugs, technical advances in prefilled syringe
manufacturing and packaging, rising demand for self-administration
and increasing elderly population suffering from various chronic
diseases that require frequent parenteral dosing are some major
drivers anticipated to trigger market growth during the forecast
period. On the other hand, burgeoning concerns regarding needlestick
safety and prevention, rising manufacturing costs and issues with
drug stability are some of the challenges likely to affect the growth
of the global prefilled syringes market.

Geographically, Europe constituted the
largest market share for prefilled syringes in 2012, owing to the
high adoption rate of these delivery devices in the region. However,
the North American market is predicted to grow at a higher CAGR (15%)
than Europe during the forecast period to reach a value similar to
that of the European market. Major drivers expected to contribute to
this market growth include increasing awareness regarding benefits of
prefilled syringes and presence of a large number of
biopharmaceuticals under clinical development targeted for parenteral
administration. In addition, the high growth economies of emerging
nations such as India, China, Brazil, Russia and Mexico are
attracting manufacturers to invest in these lucrative markets. Japan
is a well-established market for prefilled syringes among Asian
countries.

The market for prefilled syringes is
oligopolistic in nature and is dominated by a few key players,
namely, Becton, Dickinson and Company, Gerresheimer AG, Nipro
Corporation, Schott AG and Stevanato Group. Other vendors operating
in the market include Unilife Corporation, West Pharmaceutical
Services, Inc., Baxter International, Inc. and Ypsomed Holding AG.

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